


I'Sll 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




014 113 497 8 « 



THREE WEEKS 



IN AMERICA 



1 8 7 7 




By R. H. B. 



MDCOCLXXVIII. 



THREE WEEKS IN AMERICA. 



Called in the course of duty to proceed to England, in the 
summer of 1877, by way of N'ew York, from the island of Jamaica, 
I "was pleased to find in Captain Low, who commanded the 
steamer "Atlas," an Aberdonian by connection and regard, though 
I believe, to speak strictly, a native of Montrose. It gives me 
much pleasure to record here the tact and courtesy to which 
his passengers were indebted for a pleasant passage to their 
destination, 'New York. And it may interest those of your 
readers who are acquainted with him to hear, from one who 
has experienced his attentions, that of the line of steamers to 
which he belongs none is better esteemed than the commander 
of the "Atlas." 

NEW YORK. 

The approach from Sandyhook to the city is through one of the 
grandest harbours in the world, on the waters of which move 
some of the finest vessels which the combined mercantile marines 
of the Old and New "Worlds can show. As we move up we pass 
Atlantic steamers of 3,000 tons and upwards, of German, French, 
and British nationalities, hundreds of coasting vessels ; and the 
waters are dotted here, there, everywhere with ferry steamers of 
shape and size which we in Great Britain can show no match for — 
the famed "lona," of Clyde fame, known to aU who have seen our 
western coast, would be absolutely nowhere on the New York 
Water. There must be upwards of one hundred far larger 
steamers employed in the local traffic there ; and were I asked 
what my principal impression carried home from New York was, 
I would at once reply, " river steamboats." 

These notes were first published in the fonn of letters to an Aberdeen Newspaper. 



The shores of New Jersey and Long Island, which enclose the 
harbour, are lined with residences very much as are the banks of 
the Clyde below Greenock, and to these retreats, and others much 
further off, hurries the busy New York world after business hours. 
Most of your readers will know that the city stands on the island 
of Manhattan, which is one day to be covered by the city proper. 
This island is but two miles broad, and is some twenty miles long. 
For some six of these miles it is covered with blocks of buildings, 
many of them of the hugest size. The buildings which strike you 
most on approaching the wharves are those of certain insurance 
companies and the offices of some of the newspapers, which have 
been run up with that object of course. 

During the two hours' steam from Sandyhook we have, as I 
have said, been pushing on past steamers of every shape, and as 
we near our wharf we note particularly the ferry steamers which 
run across the Hudson Eiver, which washes one shore of the 
city, and the East River, which on the other side separates it 
from Brooklyn. These vessels are of the most novel construction, 
capable of carrying twenty carriages or waggons and pair, and, 
besides, of accommodating perhaps 2,000 passengers, and often 
their capabilities are tested to the full. The fare is usually 
live cents or twopence halfpenny; and here let me remark on 
the utter disregard for thrift of the average American. The 
above is literally the smallest sum ever quoted amongst even 
the poorest. The newsboy who buys his paper at the rate of 
2 J cents wiU no more think of letting you have one for less 
than double that amount than he would give it for nothing. 
The price marked on the Neio York Herald, say, is three cents, 
but it is absolutely impossible to get them at that price — one 
is compelled to pay five. I tested this point at Saratoga, the 
fashionable American resort, where in early morning I was 
strolling about, and many newspaper boys were hawking their 
papers. I determined to try one of them, and offered him four 
cents. But not a bit of it; he scorned the offer, and stuck out 
for his fair trade return of cent per cent ! 

Hotel life in America is so often spoken of by travellers that it 
deserves mention. That Americans themselves have found 
disadvantages in their system is evidenced by the advertisements 
which are so frequent, that this and that hotel is conducted on the 



European plan, i.e., you pay, as with us, for your rooms, and pay 
for meals only as you order them. That seems a common-sense 
arrangement, and yet I much doubt whether, if one is under no 
necessity to be economical, the American plan is not, on the 
whole pleasanter. According to that, you pay from five dollars to 
three-and-a-half dollars a day, and for that get your room and 
meals inclusive. The furniture of these hotels is gorgeous, indeed, 
painfully so. I heard a distinguished American senator make an 
invidious comparison between European and American hotels, and 
speak of the latter as palaces. All I can say is that I prefer to 
reside in a house rather than a palace, and, given cleanhness and 
comfort, I willingly resign to royalty the palaces. 

But in America is not every man a king unto himself? so 
perhaps it's all right that the palace should be awaiting him. The 
bill of fare of an hotel, such as the Fifth Avenue, is a marvel to 
an outsider, embracing every imaginable comestible cooked in 
every variety. The servants are plentiful and attentive, and I 
doubt whether you can dine anywhere in such comfort as at the 
ordinary New York hotel. The use of ice is a notable feature in 
their management, and I venture to suggest, for the consideration 
of those interested in the temperance cause, whether an advance in 
the use of iced water, iced soda-water, and other refreshing and 
non-intoxicating liquors is not deserving their attention. In 
America, at an hotel, it is the exception to see wine or any 
drinkable but iced water, tea, or coffee on the table. ISo one is 
expected to drink, as in this country, for " the good of the house," 
and directly you sit down to table at breakfast or dinner the 
waiter at once places before you a glass of the most delicious iced 
water, as a matter of course. ISTothing is more noticeable to the 
English traveller than this abstinence, and yet the wine is to be 
had if required, and of good quality, though usually of high price. 
Custom is against the hotel-keeper in Great Britain starting on this 
footing, but I venture to say it would be a success with anyone 
bold enough to try it. Our supplies of ice are limited and difScult 
to obtain, but the demand would bring the supply in its train ; 
and when I say that even in New York artificial ice is in use, 
when theii- supply of the natural article is so infinitely superior, and 
that at Jamaica artificial ice was selling at a penny a pound, it will 
be seen that there is no great question of expense to face, and that 



the advantages to be gained from its free use in liouseliold manage- 
ment only require appreciation to cause the demand to rise. 

Every New Yorker has " Our Broadway" on the tip of his 
tongue, if you speak of liis city to him, and yet he it confessed 
tliat I was sadly disappointed with that far-famed thoroughfare. 
Extending as it does through the whole length of the city, its very 
length is a striking feature, hut that a walk down Broadway can 
he compared in variety of sights to that which may be got in 
walking, say, from Charing Cross to the Mansion-House, in 
London, is absurd. You pass many huge buildings in Broadway, 
and a few really handsome ones, but the shops are not to be 
compared as to their exterior show — the interiors I had little 
occasion to explore. 

Tramways, or street railways as Americans call them, form a 
most important feature in the aspect of ISTew York life. "Without 
them I know not what the visitor to New York would do. Any- 
thing more vile than the state of the streets, as to paving, and the 
scavenger's Avork, it would be impossible to conceive. We, in 
Aberdeen, abuse our authorities for the state of some of our 
causewaying — King Street, for instance, is not over good for 
carriage springs or tires, and yet King Street would be esteemed 
by New Yorkers the smoothest of travelling by the side of almost 
any of their main thoroughfares. I was told that this was 
one of the results of Boss Tweed's rascality. The money 
ostensibly devoted to such works was disposed of by that worthy 
and his friends, and the city is to-day so deeply indebted as to be 
unable to afford to do the proper municipal duties. This, it may 
be assumed, disposes one to driving rather than walking, and 
there are few parts of the city which cannot be reached by means 
of the street cars, or what is termed the Elevated Eailway, which 
is nothing less than a railroad, at present about five miles long, 
but intended to compass the whole city, which runs at the height 
of the first storey directly up one of the avenues. 

If the inhabitants of Aberdeen can imagine a railroad running 
alongside their first storey windows along one of the thoroughfares 
of the city, and it is not easy to let one's imagination run thus far, 
they will then picture the condition of some thousands of house- 
holders, who have made theii- sorrows heard, and at least stopped 
the building of any further extension of the rail; and yet the 



means of rapid transit for a widely extended city like Kew York 
is a necessity patent to everyone. AVhy, it will no doubt be 
asked, cannot the example of London be followed, and under- 
ground railways used 1 The answer is, I believe, in the situation 
of the city, on a level almost with the rivers, which flow on its 
either hand and prevent tunnelling. Certain it is that for so 
large a city rapid locomotion is a necessity, and means for its 
attainment must be found, whether by buying up all the house 
property along the proposed line of elevated railway, or by some 
other mode. Accustomed as we are, here in Aberdeen, to cheap 
cab hire, it will startle your readers to hear that no cabman in 
New York will allow you to put foot in his cab under one dollar 
and a half, say six shillings, and that for three hours' driving one 
must pay upwards of twenty-five shillings. The cabs are all 
painted black, presenting the appearance of mourning coaches to 
strangers from this country, but their appointments are in general 
very good. I understand that it is intended to introduce the 
British cab system into 'New York, and was informed that two 
hundred cabs had been ordered in England. I venture, if the prices 
are kept at the British standard, to predict a great success for the 
undertaking, for under the present arrangements ordinary folk 
who pay common regard to economy cannot use the cabs. 

And now one word of the Central Park before we move on 
from Kew York — this is the one huge lung of the city, and is of 
modern design and laying out. It is at the extreme of the city, as 
at present it exists, five miles from the oldest portion, but reached 
by tramways from all points. In the ISTew Yorker's imagination, 
a future exists which wiU no doubt be some day realised, in which 
this Central Park shall be what its name betokens, the centre of 
the city. And one of the jobbing schemes which Tweed and his 
confederates undertook was the laying out of the land beyond this 
park in streets and avenues with the blocks as yet unbuilt on. It 
tickled the citizens' vanity this foreshadowing of the future, and 
made jobs for the friendly league; but the veil has dropped from 
the eyes of the tax-payers, and the millions have been spent — the 
ground is laid out, but alas, no one comes in these hard times to 
occupy it, and, like other conceits, this one is apt to become small 
in the light of the taxes asked for. The park is of large extent, 
and well laid out, the trees have grown well, and their variety is 



great, and the undulations, whether natural or artificial, give a 
great charm and variety to the landscape. An excellent idea, 
Avhich might be adopted in large parks elsewhere, is an organised 
system of carriages which start every ten minutes with parties of 
visitors, to perform the circuit of the park. Those who have no 
carriage are thereby able to see it in comfort for a small sum. 



SARATOGA. 

INIy route from New York was by the Hudson River to Albany, 
the capital of the State, thence by rail to Saratoga ; and this 
performed in one of the day boats, gives one an opportunity of 
seeing one of the finest bits of river scenery in America — in the 
world indeed — for no American need travel for the sake of natural 
scenery out of his own Continent. What a crowd ! is one's first 
impression as you press, or are pressed on board the boat, and 
wind your way with the throng to one of the decks above. There 
are three tiers of decks on most of these large steamers ; and in 
the summer months when everyone is on the move, all these 
decks are crowded. The middle of the decks is taken up almost 
entirely by a huge saloon, which runs fore and aft the vessel, and 
which is fitted with the usual gold and velvet furniture in the 
most gorgeous manner. At either end on all three decks is a 
part on which you can sit under a canopy in the open air, and at 
the bow of the boat the best view of the scenery is naturally 
obtained. Music is sure to be on board, sometimes provided by 
company, sometimes dependent on the contribution of travellers, 
and there is a part of the vessel, generally in the lower parts of 
the ship, and therefore less inviting, wdiere the inner man can be 
satisfied, though they do not fail to charge you highly for your 
wants. 

The banks of the Hudson must have a more than natural 
interest for the British visitor. Soon you pass the part at which 
was enacted that melancholy tragedy of the death of Major Andre 
as a spy, and the headquarters of the traitor General Arnold. 
Even the birthplaces of the three farmers who were the English 
officer's captors are pointed out, and the story has lent a tragic 
interest to a scene of natural beauty which the sad details have 
blinded one to for the moment. 



West Point, tlie well-known military school for oflS.cers of the 
United States army, is situated at a most strikiiig point of tlie 
river, at which I was reminded of the turns and Avindings in the 
Kyles of Bute. It has the repute of giving one of the best 
military educations of any country, and there seemed from what 
I heard of the vigorous nature of the tests that this was true. 
But I shall not detain your readers here, but hurry on to Albany, 
where, leaving the steamer, we " took to the cars," which is the 
orthodox expression for getting into the train, and so arrived at 
Saratoga. 

This, the resort of American wealth rather than American 
fashion, is a sight to be looked at, but surely not to be desired by 
any lover of his country. Here are gathered in some half-dozen 
huge hotels several thousands of men and women who have a 
month or two to spend away from their business, and choose this 
mode of doing it. The life is this, to speak at random. Out of 
the 1500 which the "Grand Union Hotel" can accomodate, or 
the 1000 which the "United States" is prepared for, you are 
surrounded by a crowd of women who parade the huge piazza 
which surrounds the house from nine in the morning till eleven at 
night. Those huge trunks wliich you may have gazed at with 
wonder as " somebody's luggage," reveal their mysteries on the 
backs of their fair owners in startling succession, and I am able to 
cite an instance of a lady who was noted by a gentleman friend of 
mine who watched her many reappearances, who changed her 
costume no less than eleven times in one summer's day. Bands 
play at the various hotels in the morning and evening, and 
concerts and balls, races and pic-nics fill up the picture. The men 
have a resigned look ; if pleased they don't show it but jog along 
quietly, and let their wives and daughters flaunt their bravery, 
while they lounge with their cigars or devour the business 
columns of the papers for news of that which they are eager to 
return to. The patron saint, if I may say it, of Saratoga, is 
Morrissey, ex-pugilist, professional gambler, and present legislator 
for his State. IMorrissey's Club is spoken of as one of the Saratoga 
institutions and sights. It is simply a gambling house for the 
wealthy idlers, whether legal or not I never succeeded in finding 
out, but everyone seemed to think that the proprietor was safe 
from disturbance, as he was a power in the Senate of the State. 



Everyone wlio spoke of him said lie played fairly, and tliisi, 
forsooth, seemed to he safiicient to whitewash the fact that the 
place was allowed to exist. To him also the place is indebted for 
the racing which goes on during the summer. Flat-racing is 
gaining in favour greatly in America apparently, and is getting 
quite a conunon amusement. 

I have failed thus far to speak of the ostensible reason for the 
resort to Saratoga, which is to drink the waters. Poor element, it 
would grieve to think over the excuses which the plea covers ! 
There are many springs, but the one in chief use is the Hathorn, 
in the centre of the town, which is surrounded from early morn 
with a crowd of imbibers. The taste is not at all unpleasant, and 
the efficacy of its constituents is I believe undoubted. From 
Saratoga, after short stay, I moved on to the wonders of Magara 
Falls, and here was enabled to forget, in one of the sublimest sights 
in the universe, the frivolity and littleness of wealthy idleness, 
American railways are not to be noted as remarkable either for 
punctuality or for what is there termed "making connections," 
that is, enabling branch trains to run to meet main line ones. To 
reach a place of great resort like Niagara Falls from a centre of 
fashion like Saratoga, it might be supposed that at least the trains 
would run through without stoppage. Not so, however ; at one 
hour's distance from the start you are shunted off from the train 
on to a siding, and for a solid hour and a-lialf have to meditate on 
the ad-rantages of American travel. This, be it said, is a point on 
which Americans are peculiarly sensitive. Suggest the possible 
advantages of British railroad arrangements — such as the items of 
speed — [ I do not refer, by the way, to our local arrangements, 
which are perhaps capable of improvement ! ] — of the division of 
the carriages into compartments, the careful ballasting of the road, 
with its result in smoothness of travel, aiid you are met by the 
question whether you have travelled to Philadelphia by some one 
train said to go fifty miles an hour, the only one I heard of 
capable of going at that rate, or are reproached with the annoyance 
of our method which prevents your traversing the train from end 
to end, or are asked to compare the comforts of the saloon car with 
our own first-class compartments, and any preference for one's own 
arrangement is attributed to the well-known obstinacy of John Eull. 



9 

Let me, liowever, dwell for a moment on the advantage of the 
luggage arrangements throughout the States. The plan is, instead 
of plastering your portmanteau with labels, which, if you travel 
frequently, become confusing with their variety, to give you a 
brass label with a number engraved on it and the name of the 
station from which you go and to which you are bound also 
engraved. Similar labels are affixed by means of leather straps to 
each of your packages intended for the van, and you are perfectly 
certain to find your baggage at the end of the journey, when, by 
producing the ticket it may be claimed. Before getting to your 
journey's end you will always be asked by a clerk from the 
Express Company which acts for the line whether you wish to 
send your luggage by express, and in that case you hand the brass 
label to him, receive a receipt on which the number of your 
articles to be carried is noted, and soon after you reach your hotel 
will find your luggage arrived without any trouble to yourself. 
There seems to me a simplicity in this mode which deserves the 
attention of railway and steamboat people in Great Britain. The 
usual charge is high, not less than 40 cents — say one-and-sixpence 
for each article; but the value of money is relatively much smaller 
than with us, and half that charge would probably remunerate an 
Express Company in this country. 

But here we are at the Falls. As we leave the station, that 
roar tells us of their neighboiu-hood ; and soon as we drive across 
the suspension bridge to our hotel on the Canadian side we come 
face to face with this awe-inspiring torrent, which shows white and 
misty under the moonlit sky. No more wondrous lullaby than 
this can be pictured by fertile imagination; but a quarter of a mile 
from the Falls the hotel occupants cannot, if they Avould, shut out 
its ceaseless roar ; and I can aver that this brought sleep as deep 
and restful to my faculties as any which ever fell to my lot. The 
early morning sun was lighting up the Falls as I opened my 
window to get the first daylight view of them ; and although I 
feel bound to say that I expected to see greater height of fall — 
they are 168 feet at the highest point — yet the volume of water in 
no way disappointed me, and each hour of my stay left its neAV 
impression of wonder on my heart. It can hardly be wondered at 
that at such a point of attraction for visitors crowds of harpies 
float around. Why it should be necessary to buy any of the trash 



10 

which is offered on all hands ; why articles of so-called Indian 
manufacture, and agate bracelets, &c., should be considered 
indispensable to the right-minded visitor to Niagara, these are 
points which I shall be glad to hear opinions upon. Certain it is 
they exist to jar one's feelings and bring away the conviction of 
petty annoyances from what should be the treasury only of high- 
souled inspiration. The ordinary visitor's lot was my own, and I 
can record having viewed the Falls from all or nearly all of the 
points of view. I confess I was disappointed at not getting more 
under the Falls. I bad expected to walk along a terrace cut out 
of the rock directly under the main Fall. This is not so. On the 
Canadian shore you go under a small part of the Fall only, and get 
a thorough drenching, clad though you are in oilskin suit. On 
the American side your walk is more extended, but still not under 
the Falls, as I had been led to expect. But do not let me lead 
anyone to suppose that I wish to declare my disappointment with 
this great sight — like the man who is recorded, after a peep down 
the crater of Vesuvius, to have muttered " There's nothing in it:" 
my only intention is to note in what it differed from expectation. 
That it fully came up to my hopes I can tridy say, and I feel sure 
that every one who visits the Falls will come away with the 
conviction that he has here seen one of the most wonderful works 
of the Creator. 



THE LAKES AND THE ST. LAWRENCE. 

From Niagara my course was down Lake Ontario by steamer 
to Toronto, and thence down the St. Lawrence to Montreal and 
Quebec. These Canadian lakes, to those accustomed to the loch 
scenery of Scotland, are too large and sea-like to be very 
interesting — I speak, of course, of the large lakes on which you 
are often entirely out of sight of land, and on which the sea rises 
to a great height. Toronto is finely situated on the lake shore, at 
some fifty miles from Niagara, and showed in its fine buildings 
and manufactures that there was plenty of enterprise in its 
citizens. My stay there was but a short time for changing boats, 
so I cannot speak of more than a walk down its main streets, 
where the shops seemed to show most attractive exteriors. Soon 
wc were off for the run down to IMontreal. touchin", in our fine 



Lof&. 



11 

steamer, at many points en route. At all the points in the 
Province of Ontario, the signs of comfort and progress seemed 
visible, and I was told that the whole Province was in a 
flourishing condition, with the public finance in good order, while 
in the Lower Province this last item is the contrary, and the 
general prosperity is very much lower. 

Leaving Kingston in the early morn after a night spent in 
steaming across Lake Ontario, the steamer glides among Avhat are 
termed the Thousand Isles, although as a matter of fact they are, 
I believe, actually nearly double that number. Truly a fairy scene 
this. The slight morning fog which hides the islands and the 
passage between from view, is dispelled as we steam on, and, 
lifting from the surface of the lake, shows a channel winding 
amongst islands of large size showing signs of habitation, and 
rocky islets with but a scanty furnishing of tree growth. We are 
on the St. Lawrence at last, and for the next ten hours steam on 
with occasional halts at towns along the shore, to dispose of 
passengers. About noon the first rapids are shot amidst the quiet 
excitement of the passengers, who were in doubt as to the dangers 
to be encountered, which in inexperienced hands would not be 
small, but with such men as steer these vessels there is no danger. 
A bend in the river or a rocky ledge is the usual cause of these 
rapids, and in one at least a channel has had to be cut out of the 
solid rock, though usually the river is able to deepen for itself a 
navigable channel. A peculiar bubble of the water ahead you see 
on approaching, and almost before you can see where you are 
the vessel is amongst this mass of bubbling water. The bow 
points downwards as she passes over the ledge, but is soon water- 
borne once more, and the longest rapid probably takes no more 
than half a minute to descend. On return the vessels are obliged 
to use the canals, cut by the side of each such rapid, to enable 
them to ascend, and these canals are being greatly enlarged to take 
up larger vessels, the traffic on the lakes being a yearly expanding 
one which demands freer outlet. 

The Victoria Bridge at Montreal, of which such frequent 
mention has been made by travellers, spans the river immediately 
above the city, and is a magnificent work undoubtedly. The ice 
of the St. Lawrence in spring time comes clown with a wonderful 
force, and therefore it cannot le wondered that massiveness and 



LofC. 



12 

solidity are the chief features of the work. Montreal is the 
commercial city proper of Canada, and shows in its public 
buildings the enterprise of its people. The timber trade has 
Quebec for its headquarters. Montreal claims the rest, and grain 
and cattle are sent from its wharves, at w^hich are landed much of 
the supplies which Canada trusts to other lands for. 

A special line of steamers takes the passenger on from Montreal 
to Quebec in the coiu'se of a night. They are admirably found, 
and no one who travels in either Canada or the States but must 
allow that we have much to learn in this manner of travel from 
them. 

Quebec, the historic city, comes into majestic view a short time 
before the journey's end. Lumber in every direction, and many 
vessels awaiting their cargoes meet the eye. From the water side 
you wind through narrow old-fashioned streets at the steepest 
gradients to the upper town, where stands the principal hotel. It 
is Sunday morning, and many are returning book in hand from 
early mass, for Quebec is a stronghold of Eoman Catholicism, and 
notwithstanding a strong Protestant element, may be spoken of as 
Eoman Catholic to the heart. The citadel is a point to which one 
is first attracted. From there is to be had the finest view of the city 
and its surroundings, and from its ramparts the town is to be seen 
far away, and directly beneath your feet. Eelic of the French days 
are the quaint caleches, which are superseded almost entirely by 
one-horse conveyances of the buggy order. But here and there drive 
past the older vehicles. The driver balanced on the dash-board, 
and the gig-body generally filled with a very full cargo of human 
beings, who on this bright Sunday morning are probably going for 
a country excursion. One striking feature of Quebec architecture 
is the sheet-tin roofs which most of its churches are covered with, 
and which at a distance from sea air is said to last extremely well, 
and has a bright and sparkHng appearance which is very agreeable 
to the eye. The loss of the British garrison has made Quebec a 
less important place, socially and commercially, than it used to be. 
The only troops which inhabit the citadel are some 150 of 
Canadian militia artillery, and the works are in many places 
tumbling down for want of a very little timely care. The building, 
which had been once a convent, and after our own occupation 
became a barracks, was being pulled down, and the out-buildings 



13 

were used for livery stables, the proprietor of wlncli had much to 
say of regret at losing those who had been such good customers of 
him and his fellows — in what he termed the " good old" days. 
Some 3,000 men Avere stationed here, and the loss of so large a 
spending element must haye been greatly felt. The country 
around the city is lovely — full of interest ahke to the lover of 
scenery and to the searcher for historical memories. The lovely 
Falls of Montmorenci, in height greatly exceeding Niagara, though 
of course not to be compared to them in volume, are reached by a 
short drive of some half-dozen miles through a richly cultivated 
country, inhabited by French Canadians. The ruins of a 
suspension bridge remain to tell the tale of a catastrophe which 
these faUs saw enacted — the very first people who crossed by the 
l)ridge on its completion, many years ago, having been killed by 
its giving Avay — a fearful fall truly. Close at hand to the falls is 
a cottage residence which is pointed out as that inhabited by the 
late Duke of Kent, Her Majesty's father, for about a couple of 
years during which he resided in Canada. The Heights of 
Abraham — scene of General Wolfe's death — command one of the 
finest views near Quebec. Strange to say that this splendid point 
has been taken for a convict j)rison, which, though a fine building, 
seems rather unnecessarily thrust into prominence here. The 
journey by rail from Quebec to Montreal, or the States, must at 
present be performed by crossing over the St. Lawrence to join the 
Grand Trunk line. Another line on the Quebec shore is in 
progress, but is far from completion as yet ; it will be welcomed, 
I fancy, when it is finished, as the trans-shipment of passengers 
and luggage is a point to be avoided if possible. The neglect of 
the Colonial Government for the fortifications of Quebec is most 
strikingly displayed in the gradual ruin into which they are 
falling, and that simply through the absence of ordinary care. 
The stone which has fallen from the walls of the citadel seems to 
be in use for other purposes, as in places where gaps existed, the 
material wdiich had fallen from them had been taken away. 

From Quebec there is a steady shipment of live cattle and 
horses to this country, and at the present prices on either side this 
should prove a profitable speculation with freights low as at 
present. Good useful horses for carriage purposes may be had for 
£20 to £30, and really first-rate ones for £100 the pair, which 



14 

last is an extreme price. I was given to understand tliat many 
were sent to Glasgow for tramway use, these of course being of the 
lower classed descriptions. Exceptionally fast trotters command 
long prices, particularly in the States, where the dearest ambition 
of the well-to-do people is to have a pair of fast trotters. The 
advent of flat racing which has taken place during these latter 
years, will no doubt cause a different class of horses to be bred. 
The gait of a horse bred to trot is, when not at high speed, a very 
ungainly one to the eye of one unused to it, but Americans have 
great faith in the staying powers of their horses — a point which 
experts alone can decide. 

The traveller who is in a hurry in the States must be fain to 
pocket his impatience, and need not expect to be free to "trip his 
mad career." An hour or two at a wayside station is an ordinary 
incident, if you wander from the main lines of the route; indeed, 
even on them there are frequently trying delays. Boston is 
reached from Quebec by rail, in a journey lasting about twenty 
hours. 



BOSTON AND BACK TO NEW YORK- 
FRIENDLY RELATIONS BETWEEN THE 
TWO COUNTRIES. 

At close of last portion of these notes, a statement was made 
that Boston is reached from Quebec by rail in a journey lastiiig 
about twenty hours. That journey might be reduced by tAvo 
hours by a simple rearrangement of the time-bills, not to mention 
the possibility of quicker travel. The deliberation of the Great 
North of Scotland Eaihvay had prepared one in part for slow 
travel, but here the frequent stations olTer some excuse. There 
the distances are great, and there seems no reason for the slowness. 

Boston is a wonderful city. There is an air of solidity about it, 
of wealth well bestowed, of cultivated taste, which no other city 
on the American Continent that I have seen can display. The 
great fire which, but a few years ago, reduced the whole of the 
business part to ashes, has been effaced, and a new quarter erected 
on a splendid scale. On the extension of the city, where now 
stand many new houses and splendid churches, less than ten years 



15 

ago was a marsli and stream, and fisli were cauglit ; and I thought, 
as I looked at these reclamations, of the joy which our Harbour 
Co mm issioners would display if some wealthy inhabitant of the 
city should rule that henceforth the reclaimed ground should be 
the site for his newly-planned mansion, or that one of the 
fashionable congregations had decided on rebuilding their church 
on that grovind. 

The domestic life in Boston links itself to English manners and 
customs more than in other American towns — in no other can be 
seen the detached system of building with garden surroundings, 
such as all our larger towns can show in their vicinity. 
Cambridge, which, I believe, is incorporated as a city in itself, is 
yet but a part of its larger neighbour Boston, and in this charming 
part stands the University of Harvard, silent, as I saw it, and 
destitute of the architectural graces with which our Englisli 
Universities are gifted, but having the air of scholarly seclusion 
wliicli comports with the haunts of learning. 

The poet Longfellow's residence is pointed out near the College 
buildings, and the poet's house has been tenanted by no less 
distinguished a man than General Washington himself, who 
occupied it at the time he commanded the American forces in 
the neighbourhood. 

The memory of "Bunker's Hill" is one which good Americans 
cherish dearly, and the visitor to Boston should task his wind and 
his knee joints in the ascent of the somewhat toilsome stairs of the 
monument. Arrived at the top you gain a view of the city of 
Boston and its surroundings, which amply repays the trouble. 
This huge obelisk stands on the site of the battle, which, though 
it can hardly be credited fairly with the term considering the 
smallness of the forces engaged on either side, was yet the critical 
trial for the American rebel force who, up to then, had not shown 
whether they could stand against the regular British troops. This 
they showed they could do, and Washington is said to have declared 
after this success that all must go well, and the future of the 
Ilepublic be assured. But long ere this my readers have wearied 
of my story, and will be ready to return to New York en retour 
to their native land. This is most comfortably done by what is 
called the Fall Eiver Route, which involves forty miles of train 
journey, and then by steamer a night passage to New York. It is 



16 

curious to see as one of tlie special inducements of the route, 
advertisements that " this is the only railroad in the United States 
on which there are carriages after the European model," and you 
find a train on which may be tried either Pullman cars, ordinary 
American travelling cars, or those of tlie model we are used to in 
this country, and for wliicli I declare my attachment — although 
there is a good deal to he said for the capability of moving about 
in the large cars wliich are usual in the States. The drawing- 
room cars, for which you pay an extra fee, are comfortable enough, 
but I am free to own that I prefer the British railways when the 
compartment is not too full, and there is space to stretch out. 

But here we are alongside the steamer " Bristol," which is to take 
a very full tale of passengers to Now York. You book your cabin 
before leaving Boston, and, are provided with a ticket which is 
numbered, that is exchanged in tha train by a steward, who hands 
you the key of your cabin, so that no time is lost, and you may 
walk direct to it on arrival on board. What a marvel of elaborate 
decoration the steamer presents — lighted with gas throughout. 
The huge saloon, in which through the evening plays a most 
excellent band, runs the entire length of the vessel, and is 
furnished magnificently. Below there is abundant preparation for 
the cravings of hunger. At each extremity groups of passengers 
sit in the open air watching the changing scene as daylight deepens 
into darkness. A new bevy of passengers is taken on board at 
fashionable E"ewport, and through the night the steamer speeds at 
great rate, arriving in Xew York by early morning. And here I 
bid my readers adieu, with the advice to all who can afford to 
travel and like the change, to take America into theu- plan, and to 
spend if possible three months, rather than three Aveeks, in seeing 
tlie country. I was unable to go west, and that alone shows hoAv 
little I have seen of the States. There may be seen the natural 
resources of America, and in the great iron districts may be 
gathered some idea of the future before this American nation, if 
they but hang together and do not let their petty jealousies stand 
in the way of their progress. 

The irksomeness of the Protectionist tariflp is very commonly 
exclaimed against, but I saw little sign of any feeling strong 
enough to overturn the present financial regime. The false feeling 



17 

of .patriotic pride prevents those wlio suffer the most from giving 
effect to their feelings. In this country Ave know from our own 
experience what a long fight the introduction of Free Trade cost 
us, and there the facts which stared us clearly in the face are not 
likely soon to come to the . front, though of late years there has 
been much pauperism and distress in. the great American cities. 
The pure Americans feel themselves at great disadvantage by the 
ease with which naturalised citizens obtain their right of voting, 
and after a residence of only two years are in possession of all the 
rights of American citizenship. As they are in the main of the 
lower class, their appreciation of their privileges, particularly in 
the matter of voting, is not very keen, and they are led by men of 
their own kind, who are in the pay of the politicians of either 
party. Thus the votes of the people who have the chief stake in 
the country are swamped by those who are but of yesterday, and 
have no settled convictions. While tliis lasts the best men 
will not engage in political life. The last remark I will make is 
on the feeling which I found so general among Americans at this 
date of friendliness to Great Britain. A settled idea amongst them 
is that this country is bound to be engaged in a life-and-death 
struggle before very long ; and no American that I talked with 
but declared that if she was hardly pressed the United States 
would be determined to help her. Of course one accepts these 
friendly speeches "cum grano salis," but I was totally unprepared to 
find them so general, and to hear them uttered with such apparent 
sincerity. I think we may attribute this cordiality in great part 
to the " Alabama settlement," which seems to liave really attained 
its object ; and perhaps in part to the conviction that America 
herself has troubles enough at home, and will be glad of the 
sympathy of all English-speaking races. At a " serenade" to a 
returned Senator who had been travelling in Evu'ope, when he 
began to speak of England and her institutions there was a voice 
from the crowd, "Treat her well!" which was followed by a general 
cheer. This I heard myself, as I was at the time staying in the 
hotel before which the crowd was collected; and I can truly say it 
was a pleasant sound to British ears, accustomed to hear of the 
jealousy of the Mother Country, which Americans are supposed to 
show. The Senator in question had bitter things to say on the 
" tubbing" arrangements in tliis country, but that was the extent 



18 

of bis objection, as far as I could gather, and I see no reason to 
object to each nation showing a preference for its own methods in 
lavatory processes. 

And now let me close this hasty sketch of a three weeks' ramble 
in the United States with a few, very few, remarks on what I may 
term the chief connecting link between that country and ourselves. 
I speak of that great steam-shipping service which has bridged the 
Atlantic for us and for our American cousins more particularly; for 
when speaking of extensive travel, who can deny that Americans 
are the very pioneers of travel, and think of distance merely as so 
much space to be sooner or later covered by their migratory 
instinct? As I write, the remembrance of a lady flashes across my 
memory, who remarked in the course of conversation that she had 
gone across to England for a few months with her children because 
her house was not quite ready for her, and she thought she might 
as well spend the time that way as any other. She made no more 
of it than a Londoner going down to Brighton for a week, and 
this is the accepted faith of all Americans, who are restless till 
they have seen Europe, and in the course of their Avanderings 
manage to spend much of their time in this kingdom and delight 
the hearts of hotel-keepers and others who live by the travelling 
public. 

Of the great Atlantic passenger lines of steamers, by seniority 
and by merit, the Cunard Company stands fu'st. By this 
company's steamer " Scythia" it was my good fortune to travel on 
return to England, and of the comfort and pleasure of the voyage 
by such a craft I cannot say too much. Admirable discipline, 
that all-important element for the comfort as for the safety of 
those who travel by sea; great courtesy from oiificers and crew; 
everything that can be desired in the matters of food and 
lodgement — all these are to be obtained, I can aver from actual 
experience, in the steamers of the Cunard Line. The only troubles 
to be seen or heard of were those inseparable, alas, from the fickle 
ocean which bore us on its bosom, and for many of my fellow- 
travellers said bosom proved far too fluttering and palpitatory a 
one for their comfort. The sorrows which the "deck steward" of 
one of these steamers must be the recipient o"f in the course of a 
year would fill a book of far greater volume than the ordinary 
novel, and which, I will venture to say, would be infinitely more 



19 

entertaining. In the anguish of mal de mer, when husband fails 
his wife and parents their dearest child, how eagerly does the 
woebegone sufferer hail the sight of this ofiicial, ever at hand and 
ever full of sympathy. Surely if ever gratuity is earned by any 
of those who serve us this is a deserving case, and were the whole 
Cunard Company to command me as passenger to desist from 
giving my votive offering at the close of the voyage to him I 
would defy them, and strive in some sort to show my sense of 
gratitude for favours received. In the " Scythia" we had not 
what is called a full number of passengers, and yet there were 
varieties of character sufficient for the student of human nature. 
It would ill become me, who enjoyed the charms of congenial 
companionship, to break the bonds of privacy and speak of 
individuals ; but this much I may say, that friendships thus hastily 
formed on the sea are not lightly thrown aside and hnger in 
pleasant memory for many a long day. The narrowness of 
national feeHng broadens into sympathy with the feelings of 
foreigners, and Americans are eager to remember not the 
differences but the ties with the mother country. But Queens- 
town is passed and Liverpool sighted, and here I say adieu ! 

E. H. B. 



LIBRftRY OF CONGRESS 




